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Taken from [http://www.mattheweggins.com/wordpress/?page_id=5 Matthew Eggins' thesis project description]

I plan an Investigation into unconventional human computer Interface design, taking biofeedback to produce a final project that is based upon the inner vision of the user. Sensation and perception will be key areas of research, helping me to put users in an environment where I will expect certain reactions based on psychological studies. I will be trying to trick the brain and body, initially with small tests, for example getting users to say the colour as opposed to reading the word, example RED and GREEN. I would like to blindfold users and give them objects to feel and take the readings, and then put them through the same scenario without the blindfold, looking at how the sensation will differ. Also using optical illusions to fool the eye into sending the brain-confused signals. This will all be a means of testing my data and formulating a structured plan for a definitive final project where I would like to produce forms of digital art based on the users perception and sensation when presented with a creative piece of work.

Key Works – The Biofeedback Monitor, By Peter Shepherd
http://www.trans4mind.com/transformation/gsr.htm

The Biophysical properties of the Transdermal Measurement, By Prof. Dr. Charles McWilliams
http://www.electrodermology.com/biophysprop.htm

I will be looking at specific examples of unconventional computer human interfaces; MindDrive, Char Davies, Osmose and Ephemere, David Rokeby’s numerous installations in particular the very nervous system, also works by Golan Levin and the Wild Divine Project.

MindDrive is a product that enables users to operate computers with their thoughts alone. MindDrive applications allows players to print, ski, shoot, fly and compose music all by use of the mind. The MindDrive uses a simple sensor sleeve that fits onto any finger, like a ring. The ring picks up signals from the mind transmitting them to MindDrive and a computer. MindDrive interprets the signals and moves the on-screen image the user is thinking about, for example, a 3D snow skier or paint brush.

Char Davies Osmose is a ‘Virtual Reality’ immersive environment. Wearing a helmet, users slowly float through a shimmering 3D space of artificial earth, tree, and water – their breathing controls navigation through the environment. Totally immersed in a digital environment of luminous beauty, with full interactive 3D sound supported by state-of-the-art equipment. The work is a meditative piece, which concerns nature and consciousness, challenging the crude images and mental vacuum of much commercial VR.

David Rokeby’s Very Nervous System is a piece of art that tracks the slightest movement of the human body. By wiring up a space the size of a dance floor and whatever moves inside this space is sucked into the artwork. Very Nervous System makes something out of you. It turns you into a piece of music. After determining where you are and how you’re moving, Very Nervous System reads this information turning it into music, interpreted and turned into layers of sound. All of this happens in real time, so dancers in the space are jigging to music of there own creation.

The Journey to Wild Divine’s innovative hardware platform measures skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate variability through the three “Magic Ring” sensors gently attached to your fingers. The measurements are registered through the “Light Stone” and fed back to you through biofeedback “events” on the screen. Characters within The Journey help you learn to control your body’s reactions. By increasing, decreasing or synchronizing body rhythms, through techniques the characters will teach you — like the “Heart Breath” — you’ll quickly learn to master the “events” and progress in the game.

I feel it is also important to look at medical aspects and have so far found these to be interesting findings:

An MRI study published in 2000 by Scientists at University College, London, showed London taxi drivers had an enlarged rear portion of the hippocampus (an area of the brain critical to many functions of memory and learning).

Another recent German study looked at how learning to juggle for three months resulted in an increase in the amount of grey matter in two areas involved in visual and motor activity.

Neurologist at Harvard University, Alvaro Pascual-Leone found that blind adults learning to read Braille had enlarged the touch sensitive cortex, a response to the input from the reading finger.

Although they do not directly link to biofeedback responses they are interesting.
Project Progress

I have managed to take the readings from the WildDivine Lightstone hardware. My next job is to interpret the figures that are pumped out into MAX/MSP from the lightstone.

LightStone Raw Data Biofeedback Research

I have now been concentrating my efforts towards interpreting the raw data I have managed to get from the LightStone, scouring the web for information about the values recieved. I found myself coming up against brick walls alot, not finding the information that would allow me to move the project forward. The Wilddivine website forum has been down, due to hackers. I see this as an area that could provide me some answers. Other avenues I have taken is to contact people who have already used and abused the LightStone data to produce a digital representation of the data.

This led me to an ideal couple of web blogs/forums based around biofeedback.
www.bio-medical.com/blog/
www.psychostructure.net/

I posted a question on the blog and forum, but judging by the date on the last post I felt my question would fall on deaf ears. Therefore I looked up the Bio-medical website rather than there blog, although it was a corporate site I contacted them as a stab in the dark more than anything. They came back to me with a name of someone who has been working with the lightsonte in a similar way.

They came back to me with this ….

You can contact Somatic Vision. He does custom software for the Light stone . Only person I know of doing it. http://somaticvision.com/ the person to talk to is Ryan.

I made contact with Ryan and was told that he was more than happy to help although I would have to get permission from Wilddivine, something I had obviously already done. To my surprise Wilddivine’s response to my email was very positve, see below.

Mr. Eggins,

I have attached the SDK agreement which must be signed prior to our releasing the SDK to you. As you are doing research, we will waive the initial $2000.00 US License fee. The License fee would become payable if you develop any commercial application/product using the SDK.

Please review, sign and return the agreement to my attention and we will get the SDK to you. We will not be able to assist you with the program called MAX/MSP to interpret your findings.

I am waiting for a revised agreement that caters for researchers once that has arrived i will send it back ASAP.

Recieved the SDK, includes C++ methods for gathering and interpreting the data and the Macromedia director Xtra for reading the information from the Lightstone. This also gives me the green light to contact Ryan and find out as much as possible about interpreting the raw valies.

See below Ryans response.

Basically you should look for 2 changing numbers within common packets of data.

One will be a skin conductance number. This number will change relatively slowly and be in the 60-1000 range (SCL). The other number is the blood volume pulse (BVP) this number changes very rapidly and is generally in the 500 range. It is showing heart beats so about every second it goes through its full range of increase and decrease of blood flow.

Any data packet sent by the lightstone will need to include some numbers that specifiy whether it is bvp or scl data, followed by the data and some sort of end digit.

The numbers coming into Director, or c++ with their dev kit, are already going to be formatted so I think you will see an entirely different pattern as you have basically hacked into the data stream.

The “technically right” way of doing this is to use c++ to build a Max plugin that gives the perfect data directly to max, and reads this data using the drivers provided by the wild divine. This may, of course, be a project well above your desired level of work, so I hope that you will find a way to read the data directly.
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